Following my parents’ recommendation during the family Skype meeting this morning, I just watched The Dig on Netflix. I’m fairly into history and archaeology, and what Mum and Dad said about it sounded interesting. To be honest though, I can’t say I was that taken by it. The discovery of a Middle Age burial ship is of course fascinating, but archeological digs, however historically important, aren’t the first thing which come to mind when trying to think of subjects for feature films. Naturally the director, Simon Stone, does his best to dramatise things, but as Mark Kermode says in his review, there’s quite a bit that just feels tagged on to jazz the film up. While there are some terrific performances in this film, especially from Ralph Fiennes, as well as some great photography, it was the type of film which had me checking the time, wondering when it was going to end. Too much of this film felt superfluous and unnecessary. Having said that, I now intend to go and read about the Sutton Hoo burial which the film was based on. I suppose the problem is, while archeology can be fascinating, it isn’t particularly cinematic.